Padres eye fourth straight win and sweep of Marlins

(Sports Network) - The surging San Diego Padres look to match a season high
with their fourth straight victory on Wednesday afternoon when they go for a
three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins.

The Padres have outscored their opponents 15-2 over their current winning
streak and followed up Monday's shutout win over the Marlins with a 5-1
victory last night. Will Venable hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs,
while Eric Stults logged the victory after yielding just the one run over 6
1/3 innings.

"This is a good sign of where the pitching is headed," Padres manager Bud
Black said. "The consistency of the starting pitching is starting to build a
little momentum."

Yonder Alonso and Everth Cabrera had an RBI apiece for the Padres, who have
won 10 of their last 13 games overall as well as eight of their past nine at
home.

San Diego also won four in a row from April 24-28 as it is attempting to
recover from a 2-10 start.

Chase Headley had a pair of hits in the victory to extend his hitting streak
to 12 straight games, a span in which he is batting .391.

Marcell Ozuna drove in the lone run for the NL-worst Marlins, who saw starter
and San Diego native Alex Sanabia last 4 1/3 innings before going down with
tightness in his groin. He allowed four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits
and two walks.

"I left pitches up in the zone," Sanabia admitted. "It was just one of those
days. Obviously, if you leave the ball up, it's going to get hit."

The Marlins have lost five of their past seven and are just 10-24 on the
season.

Taking the mound for the Padres will be Jason Marquis as the righty seeks a
third straight victory.

Marquis has rebounded to win two straight after an outing versus the Milwaukee
Brewers on April 22 in which he allowed seven runs over 4 2/3 innings. He
wasn't at his best on Friday versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, but still
claimed a 7-6 win after giving up three runs on four hits and five walks over
six innings.

Marquis, though, managed to get a pair of double plays and record nine
groundouts in the game as he moved to 3-2 on the year with a 4.25 earned run
average in six starts.

The 34-year-old has managed a lifetime 6-6 record versus the Marlins despite a
6.12 ERA in 22 matchups (15 starts).

The Marlins will turn to Ricky Nolasco, who was denied a third straight
winning start on Friday in Philadelphia as he took a 4-1 loss to the Phillies.
The right-hander matched a season high with four runs allowed over six
innings, serving up three solo homers. He had only allowed three home runs
total in his previous six outings this season.

Despite falling to 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA on the year, Marlins manager Mike
Redmond gave Nolasco credit for keeping the club in the game.

"Ricky did a nice job. He kept us in the game and executed his pitches. He
gave us a chance, but we need to start doing a better job of putting some runs
up," Redmond said.

Nolasco is 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in five career starts at Petco Park.

Miami won five of six head-to-head meetings last season, including all three
at Petco Park. That came a year after the Padres won all seven meetings
between the clubs, with a four-game sweep at home from Aug. 18-21, 2011.